WAMC? - 1st time applicant, trad, mid GPA

[jalepenoe]

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Hi everyone! I’m kind of on the fence as to where to apply this cycle, if at all. I am a bit worried about my GPA, and if my hours and stats are competitive to apply this cycle, or if I should take a gap year. Any advice helps, thank you!

Cumulative GPA: 3.68
Science GPA: 3.4
Last 45: around 3.6

Any degrees achieved:
Set to graduate with B.S. Animal Science with a concentration in Pre-veterinary studies w/ honors in May 2026

Applying to:
Colorado State, Texas A&M, Oregon State, Louisiana State, Royal Vet College (can’t apply to my instate MSU this cycle bc I don’t have all the pre-reqs done)

Veterinary Experience: around 950hrs

• Small Animal GP - 512 hours as a vet assistant
• Veterinary Science Class in high school taught by a Veterinarian - 288 hours
• Small Animal & Exotics Hospital - 66 hours as an intern
• Conservation Wildlife Veterinarian Study Abroad(Large animal and Wildlife) - 73 hours vet assistant/shadow
• Shadowed a zoo veterinarian - 3 hours

Animal Experience: around 430hrs

• Animal Science Agriculture class (large animals) - 30 hours
• Dog sitter - 100 hours
• Cheetah Conservation volunteer (wildlife) - 100 hours
• Education Intern for Ambassador animals at a zoo (exotics & wildlife) - 231 hours
• Poultry Nutrition Class project - 25 hours

Employment:

• Sterilization Assistant at a Dentist office in high school- 200 hours
• Baby Sitter - a ton of hours (but I don’t know how relevant this is, should I add to application?)

Research Experience: around 640hrs

• Undergraduate Research Assistant for my school’s College of Nursing on preschoolers nutrition and development - 160 hours (presented my project at my university research symposium)
• Undergraduate Research Assistant for a lab on canine ophthalmology - 480 hours

LORs:

• One from a vet at the Small Animal GP that I worked at
• One from my supervisor at the zoo
• One from my PI who is a vet at my canine ophthalmology lab

Awards/scholarships:

• Won the State Agriscience Fair for FFA and took Third place at the National Agriscience Fair (highschool)
• FFA Greenhand Degree
• 4x Dean’s list
• All-state for my high school soccer team

Volunteer:
I do have ~100 hours volunteering at different places (all human based), lmk if I should go more in depth on these


Extracurriculars:

• Treasurer for my University’s Club Soccer Team
• FFA (highschool)
• ASURSA
• PVMA
• Honors Mentor
• TRIO
• Intramural Soccer

Concerns:
My GPA is pretty average, should I retake OCHEM 2 because I got a 3.0 in that? Or should I just do really well in other upper level science courses?
Are there any schools that I should add/take out from my list that align better with my stats?
Should I be applying this cycle or take a gap year, especially if I can’t apply to my in-state?
What can I do to improve my application in general?

 

[JaynaAli]

One C won’t hurt and retaking it probably isn’t worth the time and effort. I’d focus on doing excellent in other upper level sciences you may still have left.

I think it’s fine to throw your hat and and apply, but approach it with low expectations. You have decent/average stats but average means it could go either way, especially if you’re mostly applying to OOS schools. TAMU doesn’t take many OOS (they say up to 10% of the class but sometimes it’s less) but your stats are fairly similar to their published averages so it’s a fair option. CSU seems to be one of the schools that’s a little more holistic/less grades focused, but they also have lots of apps because of that so it’s hard to predict stuff there, imo. I don’t know enough about the others to comment on those.

Honestly with all the proposed changes to student loans and uncertainty there, I would really suggest you really consider taking a year to finish those pre-reqs for your in-state. Idk if you mean Mississippi or Michigan as the MSU, but either way the in-state option is usually the cheapest and if there are limits enacted on federal loans you are gonna want to find the cheapest place you can if you’re going to need loans to fund school. For example, CSU’s cost of attendance is like 350,000, and if the current proposals pass, the government will potentially only loan you 150k (per the house bill) or 200k (per the senate bill) [we don’t know what version might pass], so you’d need 150-200k in private loans or other forms of aid like family helping. And private loans can be predatory and often don’t come with income based repayment plans so many vets need to survive/thrive. TAMU OOS is one of the cheaper ones and IS costs would be like 250 if MSU means Michigan State and 215 if it means Mississippi, which is much closer to the proposed loan limits and a more reasonable amount to either work to pay for, get from family, take as private loans as a last resort, etc. I don’t think it’s wrong to apply now per se, but with all the uncertainty I would really consider waiting that one additional year when we’ll better know what you’re facing, student loan situation wise plus be able
to apply to your in-state which is by far an applicants best drastically statistical shot at acceptance. Also that year will let you have more vet experience hours which can only help.

 

[indysadventures]

One C won’t hurt and retaking it probably isn’t worth the time and effort. I’d focus on doing excellent in other upper level sciences you may still have left.

I think it’s fine to throw your hat and and apply, but approach it with low expectations. You have decent/average stats but average means it could go either way, especially if you’re mostly applying to OOS schools. TAMU doesn’t take many OOS (they say up to 10% of the class but sometimes it’s less) but your stats are fairly similar to their published averages so it’s a fair option. CSU seems to be one of the schools that’s a little more holistic/less grades focused, but they also have lots of apps because of that so it’s hard to predict stuff there, imo. I don’t know enough about the others to comment on those.

Honestly with all the proposed changes to student loans and uncertainty there, I would really suggest you really consider taking a year to finish those pre-reqs for your in-state. Idk if you mean Mississippi or Michigan as the MSU, but either way the in-state option is usually the cheapest and if there are limits enacted on federal loans you are gonna want to find the cheapest place you can if you’re going to need loans to fund school. For example, CSU’s cost of attendance is like 350,000, and if the current proposals pass, the government will potentially only loan you 150k (per the house bill) or 200k (per the senate bill) [we don’t know what version might pass], so you’d need 150-200k in private loans or other forms of aid like family helping. And private loans can be predatory and often don’t come with income based repayment plans so many vets need to survive/thrive. TAMU OOS is one of the cheaper ones and IS costs would be like 250 if MSU means Michigan State and 215 if it means Mississippi, which is much closer to the proposed loan limits and a more reasonable amount to either work to pay for, get from family, take as private loans as a last resort, etc. I don’t think it’s wrong to apply now per se, but with all the uncertainty I would really consider waiting that one additional year when we’ll better know what you’re facing, student loan situation wise plus be able
to apply to your in-state which is by far an applicants best drastically statistical shot at acceptance. Also that year will let you have more vet experience hours which can only help.

This is great advice, especially in this moment, OP. Over in the VMCAS 2030 thread, I shared a veterinary-focused article that summarizes the potential (and unfortunately likely) changes to student loans that could be passing as we speak.

If the current legislation passes, a future student applying now, will not have ANY access to gradPLUS loans that are so necessary to fund vet school as they fill the gap between yearly direct loans and cost of attendance. This, alongside a cap of 150,000/200,000 for Direct Unsubsidized Loans, means that even in-state students at affordable schools funding their entire COA are likely to need either (a) scholarships, (b) family assistance, (c) funds from working simultaneously, and/or (d) private loans.

That is a very scary realization. Private loans are horrible for students, with predatory policies and interest rates meant to harm, not help. The article I shared, in addition to discussing potential changes from a veterinary lens, also discusses major concerns with private loan funding. It’s not to scare you, but to help you make the most informed decision of when to apply that’s not only best for your chances to get in, but also sets you up for future success.